Unibet reports 61% Q1 revenue hike
Gross winnings hit all-time high during the first quarter following strong growth across all verticals
Strong double-digit growth across all verticals and core markets helped Unibet report a 61% year-on-year rise in Q1 gross winnings revenues (GWR), the operator announced this morning.
Revenues for the three-month period ended 30 March 2016 stood at an all-time high of ?122.4m, up from ?76.1m last year, while the surge in revenues across the business led to a rise in underlying EBITDA, up from ?15.1m last year to ?28.5m.
Last year Unibet added Stan James Online and iGame Group to its business, which together contributed ?12.8m in revenues and ?3.1m in normalised EBITDA during the quarter, meaning on an organic basis Unibet revenues grew 44%.
The Stockholm-listed operator’s online casino and games business recorded the strongest growth, with revenues increasing 76% to ?61m, while revenues from sports betting soared 52% year-on-year to ?54.1m, despite lower margins than the long-term average.
Meanwhile Unibet also reported double-digit growth from its online poker arm with revenues from the vertical increasing 45% year-on-year to ?3.2m following a 10% decline in 2015.
GWR increased 58% and 63% in the Nordics and Western Europe respectively and although no direct figures for Unibet’s Australia-facing business were given, GWR for ‘other markets’ – all of those outside of Europe – was also up 18% to ?2.6m.
Unibet’s chief executive, Henrik Tj?rnstr?m, said the operator’s strong revenue and profit figures were the result of both organic growth and the positive impact of recent acquisitions.
“This [revenue increase] is again significantly higher than the overall market and indicates that we are continuing to take market share across the board,” Tj?rnstr?m said.
“Organic growth excluding last year’s acquisitions and in constant currency was 41% compared to the first quarter last year,” he added.
Unibet’s share price was up SEK5.8 to SEK98.95 after early morning trading.